it feels good to criticize a "keyboard critic", rather than someone who's dedicated to their craft and trains everyday, someone over 50 y.o, and in better shape than most 25 year olds, someone with 27 years teaching experience who cares only about making people as healthy as possible, not being competitive. i've seen inadequate/poor instruction, sloppy techniques, etc. master choi is definitely not "mcdojang".

Chung Choi's Taekwondo Academy- Binghamton, NY

Originally Posted by lilburley

it feels good to criticize a "keyboard critic", rather than someone who's dedicated to their craft and trains everyday, someone over 50 y.o, and in better shape than most 25 year olds, someone with 27 years teaching experience who cares only about making people as healthy as possible, not being competitive. i've seen inadequate/poor instruction, sloppy techniques, etc. master choi is definitely not "mcdojang".

So he is all of that yet you can't take the time to publish your own review of his school. Are you a student of his? If so you obviously don't have his work ethic.

my review is what i wrote in my first post. no need to assign a number system to vague criteria. whatever "grims" wrote is 100% accurate. yodaman definitely has either hard feelings, or he thinks traditional martial arts aren't the way to go. this isn't a case of discovering some dude with two years of training saying he's a black belt and trying to open a school somewhere (think david lang). this is a man who has been at the same location for 27 years teaching. so attack me personally all you want. but respect traditional instruction, TMA's, respect the dedication of 27 years teaching experience. you don't need cauliflower ears to be a good martial artist

Chung Choi's Taekwondo Academy- Binghamton, NY

Originally Posted by lilburley

my review is what i wrote in my first post. no need to assign a number system to vague criteria. whatever "grims" wrote is 100% accurate. yodaman definitely has either hard feelings, or he thinks traditional martial arts aren't the way to go. this isn't a case of discovering some dude with two years of training saying he's a black belt and trying to open a school somewhere (think david lang). this is a man who has been at the same location for 27 years teaching. so attack me personally all you want. but respect traditional instruction, TMA's, respect the dedication of 27 years teaching experience. you don't need cauliflower ears to be a good martial artist

Ok you asked for the attack: You talk about respecting tradition yet you sneer at the rating system here (a bullshido tradition if you will) like a pompous hypocrite. You also lecture on being a critic and deliver a critical post. The rating system is in the stickies to help maintain a format for reviews. Read them and post a review if you give a crap about the instructor. You are disrespecting him by not posting a real review.

Chung Choi's Taekwondo Academy- Binghamton, NY

Originally Posted by lilburley

i guess no matter how much i talk plain common sense, you just don't hear what i'm saying... do you have cauliflower ear?

I hear fine. Your arrogance is incredible. When I study any art, I respect the traditions of the school. This website has traditions that you have heaped scorn on. I do not understand why. There is a school review here that is not great but there is plenty of opportunity to post your own opinion which you obviously did. Your contempt prevents you from posting a review in the traditional format here. Are you the type who maintains etiquette in the school then walks out the door and forgets all the lessons on honor and respect? That is the impression I get. Also cauliflower ear is a common condition for many full contact fighters. Why do you mock these guys? (I am not one of them but I certainly respect them.) You drip contempt and your air of superiority does not reflect well on any organization you are part of.

I hear fine. Your arrogance is incredible. When I study any art, I respect the traditions of the school. This website has traditions that you have heaped scorn on. I do not understand why. There is a school review here that is not great but there is plenty of opportunity to post your own opinion which you obviously did. Your contempt prevents you from posting a review in the traditional format here. Are you the type who maintains etiquette in the school then walks out the door and forgets all the lessons on honor and respect? That is the impression I get. Also cauliflower ear is a common condition for many full contact fighters. Why do you mock these guys? (I am not one of them but I certainly respect them.) You drip contempt and your air of superiority does not reflect well on any organization you are part of.

i don't have contempt for any format. i don't mock full contact fighters. the thing is that you appear to be the "grandmaster" of this website, where you log on and write people(me)just to tell them(me) how to format their response, and when they don't do what you say, you accuse them of not respecting traditions of bullshido, as if this is a dojo. is this really THAT serious to you? as for the guy who was speaking negatively about master choi, i only logged in as a member to let it be known that he's definitely disgruntled about something, and that he speaks untruths. he gave me the impression that he's a mixed martial artist that doesn't respect traditional martial art schools, so i don't mock all martial artists. my message was meant for him specifically. but i didnt register on bullshido expecting to be told how i need to express myself

Chung Choi's Taekwondo Academy- Binghamton, NY

Full contact fighters get cauliflower ears. You make a snarky comment about cauliflower ears and understanding your post yet I am supposed to infer you have respect for them. Slow down on your backtracking before you trip

I did not create the format, it's in the stickies.

Yes the site is important to me. I enjoy posting and reading posts here. I think you are showing arrogance and disrespect. What is your objection to the format? I suspect you can not justify giving the school perfect scores and are afraid of offending your instructor or classmates.

Choi's tkd vestal ny

I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post. I'm also a former long time student at Choi's tkd (9+ years for family and I) so I may have something useful to add to the reviews. Take the following information for what it's worth as I will admit that I did not leave the school on good terms but will do my best to be fair to the school and Master Choi.

Aliveness: 1-2

Equipment: 5 There are wavemaster bags at one end of the dojang as well as a number of striking and focus pads.

Gym size: 9 The workout floor is quite large.

Instructor/student ratio: 3-5 It depends on who's leading class and what Master Choi has going on in the front lounge area of the school to determine if and when he will take over and lead class.

Atmosphere/Attitude: 6 There are cliques and favorite students within the classes.

Striking: 3 There is typically very little actual striking other than some focus pad kicking on occasion.

Grappling: 2 There's very little of what could be called grappling at the school and what there is typically happens during the summer months only.

Weapons:1 There are no weapons.

Here's a quick overview of the school and I'll be happy to answer any questions that I know the answer of.

Master Choi has been at the same location for 27+ years and he has trained people to compete in the past. The last time I believe he actually did anything like this was either 2007 or 2008. He use to have instructors from other schools come and judge during promotion tests but he stopped this in 2009 and judges all promotion tests with a couple of senior student helpers. He does have a decent way with younger children and new students this changes with time.

The school is VERY, FILTHY, and poorly maintained. There are 2 families that I know of who suffered asthma symptoms while there. these went away within 2 weeks of them leaving the school. There is for lack of a better term nasty funk that's way more than the smell of sweat that permeates the place. If there's anyone in the area who doesn't believe this head over to the school. Cleaning and repair of things is not something that's on the radar. At the tuition he charges this is unacceptable given that his rates are substantially higher than any other martial arts school in the area.

The forms that are taught are Taeguk and there is heavy emphasis on conditioning. Master Choi has only a limited amount of patience for people who are in his mind overweight. He has kicked overweight students out in the past. Master Choi also has no tolerance for anyone who wants to explore an additional martial art which may be complimentary to the kicking of TKD. To Master Choi MMA is a fad. I do not practice MMA but don't have a problem with the students who would like to.

Maybe it's due to how Master Choi was raised but there is a division of how he treats various students depending on what either they or in the case of children their parents do for a living. Dr, Lawyer, Professor are at the top rung and there's more tolerance shown. as the professions go further down the ladder there are subtle changes/allowances given.

Lilburley stated in his/her post that nobody's ever been injured at the school. I personally know of the following injuries to different students. teenage female broken ankle, teenage girl broken bone in foot, 11 year old girl broken foot at growth plate, adult female broken bone in foot, adult female broken bone in forearm, adult female broken bones in foot from spectator child running and taking her out. I was right next to her and it was ugly, Me grade 2 ankle sprain, torn meniscus, patella tendonitis. There are other injuries but these are the ones I was there for and were at the top of my head.

Hello pj66. You said you have trained at Chung Choi's Taekwondo before in the past.

In your experience, was there a high level of WTF sparring at the school? With fast, hard contact? In other words, the type of training you would see for full-contact point sparring competitions?

I live in the Binghamton area, and I'm very passionate about Taekwondo. But I'm having a really difficult time finding a reputable TKD school that trains hard for WTF competitions. Do you have any recommendations for me if Chung Choi's isn't good? Thanks so much.